


Going Once, Going Twice

by melpos



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Awkwardness, Fluff, Humor, M/M, i give u nothing but awkward ereris
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-11
Updated: 2015-11-11
Packaged: 2018-05-01 04:56:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5193107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melpos/pseuds/melpos
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A short, dark-haired man steps onto the stage. He stands next to Armin, small smile ghosting his thin lips. Eren thinks it looks forced, but he can't dwell on that thought much because suddenly this man–Levi–is staring into his eyes. Eren looks back and notices that, oh man, this person has silver eyes, and he can see that all the way from below, where he sits close to the stage. Beautiful silver eyes. Eren loves beautiful eyes. </p><p>He wants to bid on him. </p><p>--</p><p>An AU where Eren bids on Levi for a date.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Going Once, Going Twice

**Author's Note:**

> this is what happens when i stalk Monsoon's "au idea" tag on tumblr. 
> 
> [original post](http://monsoondownpour.tumblr.com/post/112781095965/foxicology-imagine-eren-bidding-for-a-date-with#tumblr_notes): imagine Eren bidding for a date with Levi for a charity auction and he ends up winning—two thousand dollars less in the bank _but it’s for charity think of the children_

The Wings of Freedom Foundation is a not-for-profit organization created by Armin Arlert that gives underprivileged kids and teens academic opportunities they wouldn't otherwise have. They hold events often to raise money for those kids, and they also have a website where they take donations. Armin, president, uses social media to spread the word about events and information to keep the public aware. 

It seems like he did a good job, Eren thinks, as he sees the largest crowd at the charity's annual dinner auction, held each spring. He came with a goal in mind to support his friend, Armin, and a thick wad of cash to fool Armin into thinking he might actually bid on someone. He promised himself he wouldn't. 

At his table sits Jean and Mikasa, chatting lightly about Armin's goals for WoFF. 

"... So he's been doing this for about four years now. He's raised I don't know how much for I don't know how many kids," Mikasa finishes with a nod. Her long winded speech shows her hidden passion for what Armin does, and Eren can't help but smile fondly at her for it. 

"Huh," Jean replies. "Maybe I'll bid on someone today." He grins, fixing his suit jacket as he shifts back in his seat. Eren rolls his eyes, Jean's shifting bringing out an annoyed expression from him. He plays with the hem of his own suit jacket, waiting for the event to start. It is a formal event, targeted towards rich, credible people in their community. Armin obviously knows what he's doing. Eren isn't nearly as rich as some of the people there, but he still makes great money as a computer engineer. Some of the people here are nearly millionaires, though. 

A light murmur buzzes in Eren's ears as more rich people fill into the dining area. A large amount of round tables are scattered, each holding a set of chairs for an ample amount of bidders. Eren's table is near the front, where a stage is, podium resting naturally on top of it. Eren looks at the podium to see WoFF's logo, designed by Armin himself, and Eren cannot help but think how far Armin has come. It makes him proud beyond words. 

"So, Mikasa," Eren starts, "why aren't you being put up for bidding? Weren't you last year?" 

Mikasa frowns. "Armin said no, for some reason. Probably because I'm with Annie now, but I don't see why that should impact anything." 

Eren nods, then shrugs.

"What about you, Jaeger?" Jean asks. "Or did Armin think you were too ugly to be bidded on?" He snickers as Eren rolls his eyes and scoffs. 

"You wish, horse-face. Armin thinks I should bid this year because I'm getting paid well." 

Jean's mouth opens to retort, but he gets cut off by the light pounding of a microphone being tested reverberating around the room. All three friends look up to see Armin standing behind the podium with a warm smile. 

"Hello, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for being patient as more people file in. We should be starting soon." 

The quietness that evaporates as Armin stops talking causes the room to fill with voices that bounce off the walls. 

Minutes pass by quickly, and from what Eren can see, nearly the whole room is filled. A quiet couple sits at their table amidst the shuffling chaos, waiting for the main event. Finally Armin returns and Eren can sit back, relax, and watch the soon-to-be show unfold in front of his very eyes. 

"Hello everyone!" Armin greets. "And welcome to Wings of Freedom Foundation's fourth annual charity auction!"

Applause sounds throughout the room, and Armin goes on to explain his organization after it dies down. Eren drowns it out, having heard the information too many times. He's just waiting for the good stuff, where rich people fight over Krista, which has happened a consecutive three years in a row. She always stands next to Armin, frightened as the fighters nearly get up from their tables and fight to the death for her. Eren nearly laughed the second year it happened when a young, born-into-money man rolled up the sleeves of his suit jacket. Jacket of all items of clothing. It amuses Eren to think back on it, remembering how the young man stuck out his chest to make himself seem bigger. 

"This year, our goal is fifteen-thousand dollars for the event. I know it's a bit of a stretch, but aim high or you'll never get there is what they say." 

Eren's eyes shoot up in surprise. 15 thousand is a lot, even with 20 people up for bid. Knowing Armin though, Eren knows he'll be able to do it. Even if Eren can't explicitly help by donating. 

"Let's start the bidding with our first person up for bid!" 

The first person up is Moblit, who Armin introduces and gives background information on, which brings a holler from the back of the room from Hanji Zoe as they hear his name. Eren can't control the smile on his face as he watches Moblit blush all different shades of red. They were never a thing, but Eren knows that they like each other in some way, as friends or something more. 

"Let's start the bidding at two-fifty," Armin says with an excited glint in his eyes. 

They manage to raise 950 dollars with Moblit's cute and awkward demeanor; high above what is needed to reach 15 thousand. Eren watches as various people are bidded on. Luckily (or unluckily, Eren thinks, bored), no fights break out for Krista or any of the bidded people. 

Before the twelfth person shows their face, Armin excitedly announces, "Ladies and gentlemen, we are only two-thousand dollars away from our goal, with four people left to bid! That means we need an average of five-hundred dollars for each person. We can do it, WoFF!" 

Eren sees Armin look over at their table with an excited grin on his face. Eren smiles back, proud of his kind-hearted friend. 

Armin looks away and says to the crowd, "Okay, our next person up for bidding is Levi! Come on out, Levi." 

A short, dark-haired man steps onto the stage. He stands next to Armin, small smile ghosting his thin lips. Eren thinks it looks forced, but he can't dwell on that thought much because suddenly this man–Levi–is staring into his eyes. Eren looks back and notices that, oh man, this person has silver eyes, and he can see that all the way from below, where he sits close to the stage. Beautiful silver eyes. Eren loves beautiful eyes. 

He wants to bid on him. 

Armin begins explaining Levi's likes and dislikes and everything a person needs to know to bid on him, when Eren hears Jean whisper to Mikasa, "Wow he seems like such a cool guy." 

"Then go for it. Bid on him," Mikasa replies. Eren nearly turns around to glare at her, but Armin's enthusiastic voice stops him. 

"Can we start the bidding at two-fifty?" 

"Two-fifty right here!" Eren hears Jean yell right behind him. He turns to glare at him, then quickly whips around and throws his hand in the air. 

"Two-seventy-five!" 

"What the hell, Jaeger?" Jean hisses. Jean throws his hand up too and adds, in a louder voice, "Three-hundred!" 

"Fuck you horse-face. Three-fifty!" 

"You said you wouldn't bid. Four-hundred!" 

"I lied. Four-fifty!" 

Armin watches disconcerted as the two bounce back and forth, mumbling obscenities before yelling out their bid. Levi stands there, arms crossed and a smirk on his face. He watches as the two slowly raise his worth, going from adding 50 dollars, to 100 dollars. 

"Seven-hundred!" Jean continues. 

"Eight-hundred!" Eren nearly growls. 

"Nine-hundred!" Jean screams. The entire room has fallen silent as the two young men continue to raise their bids. Mikasa watches, somewhat amused at their bickering and competition that started with Jean's first bid. 

"One-thousand!" Eren says. His face turns red with the adrenaline that courses through his body. His green eyes flash with determination. 

"Eleven-hundred!" Jean yells with a grin Levi's way. Armin raises his eyebrows and Levi scoffs. 

Eren pauses, nose wrinkled in frustration. He pauses, and Jean thinks he's won when Eren blurts out, "Fifteen-hundred!" 

He turns to look at Jean to see that Jean has taken to staring at him in surprise. His eyes flicker from Eren to Armin and Levi on stage. He hesitates before weakly adding, "Sixteen-hundred..." 

Eren sends him one more grin before turning back to the stage and loudly and clearly saying, "Two-thousand dollars." 

Armin stares at him, silence filling the entire room as Jean can no longer retaliate with a higher bid. The silence makes Eren realize two things. 

One: He has somehow stood up sometime during the bidding war with Jean. 

Two: He just spent two- _thousand_ dollars on a date with a guy named Levi. Levi, who he knows nothing about because when he was supposed to be learning, he was lost in his gray eyes. 

"Uh..." Armin utters into the microphone. He shakes his head to mask his surprise and starts to speak again with a grand smile on his face. "We've reached our goal! Thanks to my good friend Eren, we have successfully raised fifteen-thousand dollars!" 

The entire room erupts in applause. Armin comes down from the stage to go next to Eren to take a picture with him. Whistles and hollers sporadically reach Eren's ears. The flash from the camera goes off and temporarily blinds him. Eren gets tugged on by Hanji and suddenly they're both behind the stage, and Armin's faint voice comes from the stage. 

Hanji turns to look at him with a grin. Eren stares back before screaming, "What the hell?!" 

Hanji covers his mouth, shushing him. "Jesus! You know there are a few more people to bid right? Don't yell backstage." 

Eren pushes Hanji's hand from his mouth, mildly disgusted. He wipes his mouth free of any grossness, grimacing.

"Why am I even back here?" 

"I'm going to collect your money. Armin has a policy where the money has to—"

"Yeah, yeah, he has to get the money up front," he cuts them off with a wave of his hand. He pulls out his wad of two- _thousand_ (he still can't believe it) dollars and hands it over to Hanji with a frown. _It's for the children,_ he thinks, and he begins to repeat that in his head as a way to console himself. 

"Thank you!" Hanji sings. "You can go back to your seat now." 

"Um..." 

Hanji turns back, having already began their walk to put the money away. "Yes?"

"Can..." Eren pauses to lick his lips. "Can I meet Levi?"

Hanji chuckles. "Ah, Eren... You're not the first bidder to ask. Come this way." 

Eren follows Hanji and the pair end up outside. 

"Remember," Hanji warns as they open the back door, "no refunds if you don't like him." 

Eren nods. He looks around for a second and finds Levi tapping away on his phone. Krista is standing next to him, doing the same thing as she taps away on her phone with a thin-lipped smile on her face. He walks up to the two. 

"Hey Krista," he greets. Both Levi and Krista look up at him simultaneously. 

"Hi Eren!" Krista replies. "What are you doing here? Do you need something?" 

"Uh..." Eren mutters. His mouth is open in silence as he awkwardly points at Levi. "I, uh, bidded. On him." 

Levi snorts and Eren worries that the man is actually an asshole. He turns to Krista and says, "Two-thousand dollars." 

Krista's eyes go impossibly wide. "Two- _thousand_ dollars? Wow. Go get ‘em, tiger." 

Eren nods, ignoring the second part of her response when Krista turns to him to confirm. "I really wanted to support Armin's charity. For the children and all." 

Levi scoffs. Eren scowls. Krista laughs. 

"Well I'm glad you spent the money on a good cause." 

Eren smiles sheepishly. "Thanks. I guess. Anyways, I just wanted to meet Levi, so I think I'll head back—"

He cuts himself off from leaving when he feels a hand on his wrist. He turns back to see Levi looking at him noncommittally. Levi lets go of his wrist, seemingly realizing what he has just done, and slowly inches it away. 

"Uh," Levi starts, clearing his throat, "thanks. For the bid." 

A dust of red colors his cheeks and Eren smiles. 

"You're welcome. I guess. Do you get some prize or something?" 

Levi shakes his head. "Nope. Just bragging rights. And a picture with Armin." 

Eren laughs. Levi raises an eyebrow at him. 

"Well I'll see you later, Levi. For our date. Which is gonna be...?" he trails off in question. 

"Picnic in the park. Were you not listening to Armin?" 

Eren blushes. He rubs the back of his head sheepishly. "I, uh, wasn't really paying attention." 

"Why not?" Krista asks, and Eren jumps because he forgot she is still standing there with her phone nestled in her hands. She’s not looking at them, but she still remains tapping away at her phone. At the lack of a response, she looks up to Eren, eyebrows raised in expectation. 

Eren stares at her for a moment before blushing and looking away, lips curled in a pout. 

“Well,” he says with a clearing of his throat, “I just. Kinda… got lost… in… Levi’s eyes?” His voice raises in uncertainty. Levi chokes on his spit and starts to cough. Krista laughs. 

“That’s incredible,” Krista says through another giggle. Her phone begins to ring and she looks down at it with a smile. “I’ll be right back.”

Eren watches her go in hidden agony, afraid of Levi’s next response, if he’ll even give him the pleasure of a response. He doesn’t think Krista will be back anytime soon. 

As he stares at her retreating back, Levi clears his throat, grabbing Eren’s attention.

“If, uh… If it makes you feel any better, I also thought your eyes were pretty.” 

Eren smirks--unlike himself, he thinks, but he rolls with it anyways--and replies with, “Pretty?” and a raised eyebrow. 

Levi’s cheeks dust pink for a split second as he looks away before he shrugs and somehow recovers faster than a person with regenerative abilities. 

“Yeah. Tell Hanji I told you that and I’ll personally maul you with nothing but my two hands.”

Eren holds up his hands in defense. “All understood, Captain.”

Levi nods. “Good.” He looks back at the back door where Eren came from. “You should probably go back, right? I’m sure Armin’s gonna wanna see you right after this whole shit-show’s over.” 

Eren laughs turning to begin his retreat. “You’re right. Catch you on the flipside, Levi.”

“You did not just quote _Bridesmaids_ of all movies.”

“I did just quote _Bridesmaids_ of all movies.”

“Fuck you.”

Eren laughs and tosses Levi the most syrupy smile he’s ever mustered. “See you later.”

**Author's Note:**

> i hope you guys enjoyed! <333
> 
> [tumblr](http://melposwrites.tumblr.com/)


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